Advice for friend putting together a surround sys.

Surround is so 90's

Have a look at the NAD T747 (around $600) and a Totem Dreamcatcher set ( 5 speakers and sub). Would be great for music also.

Alternatively, you could piece together a set of speakers used, as long as the front 3 match. Too many choices to even begin suggesting.

I totally agree w/Meiwan. The Nad T747 is on closeout (I just bought one) and a steal at that price. Just make sure the speakers are 8 ohm .... again, too many choices to mention.

if he can stand to do it in chunks he can do source/amp and fronts, later add a sub, then add center and surrounds. takes longer but you get a better system and get to enjoy along the way.

The best piece of advice you can give in my opinion is to ensure he gets something with audyssey multi eq or better. The impact this technology has on the sound in *most* rooms is beyond what everything else will provide with the exception of speakers.

My recc is the Quad Lite 5.1 system with a Marantz receiver from Accessories4less.com. This combo, a brd player and wiring could be had new for under $2k with careful shopping.